• Red Light's, Coffee Houses and Windmills

    8/19/200812:28:51 PM Link 0 comments | Add comment

    We had just returned from our cruise to the Baltic Sea and I thought I would continue to share our experiences with you.

    Our last port of call . . . . . .  Amsterdam. We enter the locks at about 9:00 AM . . . . . . actually, we enter the lock. Looks like a water level differential of about 6 feet or so and not a single Dutch boy with his finger in the wall. It will take 2 to 3 hours of enjoying the countryside before arriving at the pier.
     
    Amsterdam is a unique city . . . . . . parking lots which hold up to 5000 bicycles . . . . . . coffee houses (don’t go for coffee) . . . . . . red light’s (don’t take a picture of these light’s) . . . . . . . . . . . and sex shops (like I’ve never seen before - not that I ever have) . . . . . . . . a canal system far more interesting then Venice . . . . . flowers and windmills . . . . . . and the Anne Frank House. Very unique city.
     
    As you enter the red light district, you remember how we were pre warned not to take pictures of the girls in the window. They say . . . . before you can lower the camera . . . . the scantily clad woman will be out the door and spitting in your face. I did not test this theory; however . . . . I was soon to find many other things I did not test. The coffee shops where you can smell the fresh brewed coffee . . . . . . well, that’s what I expected . . . . . rather than the whiff of smoke billowing out the door . . . which I hadn’t experienced since the 70’s. (note to my family – I did not participate then, either) Another thing which we bypassed was a visit to one of the many sex stores. I can only imagine what goes on in there . . . . since we walked past at such a quick pace.
     
    We did however; take a cruise through the canals of Venice . . . . . . I mean Amsterdam. I didn’t expect this many canals running throughout the city, but it was very picturesque with the tree lined streets running along the waterway in front of the narrow homes . . . . . . some of which are leaning as they are sinking into the water. Hundreds of stationary boats utilized as homes are resting along the shores. How or when they got there is a wonderment . . . . . I can see that they wouldn’t fit under any of the bridges.
     
    Waterfront cafes are always a pleasant site and they make for a great stop to continue our beer of the world tour. We had a bright sunny day sitting under the trees . . . . . . along side the water . . . . . no bugs or insects around . . . . . . and a view of the street where Anne Frank wrote her diary. It can’t get much better for the last day of a great cruise.
     
    Arriving back at the ship we had longer than normal lines. Everyone seems to be returning at the same time. While waiting in line passing through the terminal there are small stores . . . . . either side of the aisle . . . . . . items yelling out to us to be purchased. As we slowly make our way, I noticed the cutest “windmill night light’s” . . . . electric night light’s . . . . from Europe. After our purchase of 3 of these “windmill night light’s” . . . . . . . . . . and bringing them all the way back to Atlanta . . . . . . we plug them into the wall (tried to plug them in) . . . . . . . you guessed it . . . . . they don’t work in the United States. Anyways, they are still cute.
     
    Tomorrow we awake in Dover, England and begin our journey back home where we can enjoy our last beer of the world stop . . . . . . . . . . . . . an ice cold Miller Lite . . . . . . . courtesy of Delta Air Lines.
     
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